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We’ve all had them, some people will be unlucky enough to be working for one now, but how is it that Toxic Managers are able to remain in their jobs for so long? What’s more how can they progress so rapidly within organisations? In a previous post, we discussed some core reasons, and now I’ll go into detail on each of those points, as well as offer some advise to current employees of toxic managers. Of course, at the heart of the toxic manager, employee and organisational relationship is the management of information.
Toxic Managers Manage Their Bosses
A core trait of any toxic manager is the ability to manage their own superiors. Toxic managers are rarely found in junior positions. Therefore their bosses are generally directors, vice presidents or board members. As a result the handling their bosses becomes slightly more clear cut. Rarely does a board member want to hear all the details of who, where, why, what and how - More often they like ‘the headlines’. Where are we with this project, and if things aren’t going so well, what is being done to rectify the situation. With this level of interaction, the toxic manager is ideally placed to miscommunicate to their bosses. They can offer only limited information when required and as long as the end result remains within their bosses expectations they will get away with it. By managing their superiors in this way, they are able to retain a high perceived value of themselves within their organisation. When things are going wrong, the organisation and their bosses don’t know about it, and when they are going well, be assured that the toxic manager will make sure the world knows about it.
Toxic Managers Manage Information Successfully
Toxic managers make themselves the centre of attention within their teams. They will ensure that information that is passed to their teams is only the information that they want to give them. What’s more Toxic managers make sure that their teams perception of the wider organisation is completely aligned with their own view of the organisation. By doing this, they are able to manage the information that their teams give to other members of the organisation. This also creates a climate of ‘Them and Us’. A toxic manager can often be view by passive employees as the best thing to happen to an organisation. It’s only when a passive employee becomes active, and questions their manager that they see them in their true light.
Toxic Managers Are Exceptional Sales People
A great skill of almost all Toxic Managers is to be able to convince and persuade people to their way of thinking. This begins introspectively within their teams, by ensuring that their view of the world is completely aligned with their own. This behaviour becomes most apparent in 2 scenarios: Firstly when something goes really well. In this case the toxic manager is able to sell this success beyond their team to the entire organisation as their own. Secondly, when things go terribly wrong. In this case the toxic manager is frantically searching for a scapegoat. When he finds one, he is able to sell the fact that failure is down to them and them alone very successfully. He is also able to convince his own team of this fact, thus making the information that they impart to other people within the organisation completely managed.
Toxic Managers Take Credit For Others Work
Toxic Managers take credit for their subordinates work. They will congratulate their subordinates for a job well done, then ensure that the success is completely attributed to themselves, or their management style to the senior organisation. This offers a great insight to senior executives, as this behaviour manifests itself into something tangible and measureable: How often is an employee promoted. The ratio of promotions to subordinates is an indicator to how success or unsuccessful a manager is.
Toxic Managers Create A Climate Of Fear
Never cross the Toxic Manager. They will ensure a climate of fear within their teams, and this limits the teams ability to complain about their manager. The ‘fear’ is not simply perceived, Toxic Managers cultivate outstanding relationships with HR to make sure that when push comes to shove they can instigate HR proceedings against employees that complain.
How to manager Toxic Managers
The first aspect to managing a toxic manager is to recognise that you have one. Once you’ve gotten to this point, your aim is simple and clear - You must leave this environment. This can be difficult as the Toxic manager has cultivated relationships with all the people who can help you leave your own role, and they themselves are unlikely to be willing to allow you to leave for fear of not having the necessary control over the information that you impart onto others within the organisation. To be able to manager this, you have to understand the toxic manager. They often suffer from narcissism in its most extreme form. To help smooth the road between leaving your current role and getting to your new role, you must pander to their every need. Set time aside simply to cater to their desires. Understand what motivates them, and use misinformation to ensure that they are consistently happy with the work that you are doing. When you’ve finally gotten to a point where you are ready to express your desire to leave, keep it completely personal. The reason for your leaving has to be something that cannot be overcome but has absolutely nothing to do with them, their style of management and if possible the organisation in which you work - and its up to you to fully define that reason. Finally the most important piece of advice for those working under a toxic manager - Keep Everything. Every threatening email, every scrap of evidence that could be used in your defence if things move towards the HR route.
Source: Abdelaziz (Aziz) Musa